Divine Emperor of Death

Davis coldly looked down on Xerax, barely able to contain himself from killing him in one move.

There were so many factions that wanted the Emperor of Death dead in order to obtain karmic virtue, but there was no faction more motivated and excited to kill him than the Cyan Soul Rat Clan. Why? Because of this one man before him.

Xerax, a King-Tier Cyan Soul Rat. Without his orders, Davis wouldn't have been targeted much, nor would the ascenders have had to suffer because they soulscoured everyone who ascended. Most vexing was his father could've been caught even if Accursed Warlock wasn't there because the Cyan Soul Rat Clan put so much pressure on the factions of the Central Primesky Alliance to keep defending the Ascendance Monuments.

Everything that had been against him in the First Haven World stemmed from this man.

There was little doubt the Cyan Soul Rat Clan fanned the flames to target him and his family. Even the war the Fire Phoenix Clan waged on the Starlight Jade Wolf Clan had its hand in the shadows. Before his battle with Venerable Warrior Zermatt, there was one Immortal Emperor woman who was shouting like she had reason to kill him righteously, but in truth, she was also implanted by the Cyan Soul Rat Clan to target him, get the forces of the many alliances to kill him.

She had been a Sect Leader from a righteous Immortal Emperor Grade power, although it was not a major power. In fact, she was then killed by the Cyan Soul Rat Clan's Ancestors to silence her. Then he was framed that he had killed her in revenge.

He didn't even know of it until now because that news never really exploded. Besides, there were also various crimes framed on his head intentionally by those who had earned his ire, so the common people with not much access to verified information only thought of him as an evil entity even to this day.

There was no turning it around.

The Fire Phoenix Clan may have been outward and let pretenses go after he brought down the heavenly tribulation on them, but the Cyan Soul Rat Clan did everything in their power to turn the public opinion against him.

Once they realized it failed, they directly hid in this mini-realm. They were so smart about it and didn't even hesitate to abandon their Prefecture that Davis felt admiration for them. But if his admiration was ten times, then his wrath was a hundred times higher.

He wished he could eternally torture this man without having to kill him, but when looking at Xerax, he felt like he only needed to crush him into meat paste to avoid looking at his obnoxious face.

"What's wrong? Turn into your kingly magical beast form. We can have a bout as you have always wished…"

Davis's voice was cold.

It caused an undying chill within Xerax's heart as he shuddered under the cold gaze filled with killing intent.

"No- please, wait… I swear I didn't want to fight you, but my greed got ahead of me… I initially used you as a sacrifice to obtain a firm seat in the Cyan Soul Rat Clan. After all, you were only known as… a Divergent at that time… so there was karmic luck to be… gained…"

Xerax's teeth clattered, "If- If I knew you were an Anarchic Divergent, I wouldn't even have gone near you…!"

"Is that supposed to make me spare you?"

Davis inclined his head. His wrathful gaze also receded, replaced with confusion as though he wasn't angered at all.

However, this frightened Xerax beyond compare as he hurriedly sat up and kowtowed, smashing his head against the dirty surface.

"No! I know I am dead! But I'm a Kingly Beast. I know the Emp- no, the Divine Emperor of Death is magnanimous and will not massacre an entire clan, so all I ask is for my young ones to be spared and my blood to be shared among them. This will ensure that even in death, I can fulfill my duty as a king but also let the Cyan Soul Rat Clan survive my foolish actions. They are not at fault!"

Xerax continuously hit his head on the surface, causing severe dents to appear.

"You haven't even entered the Cyan Soul Rat Clan for three years, but you already care about them that much? When you decided to sacrifice the fourth city, it didn't seem to be the case?"

"…!"

Xerax's heart shook. The Emperor of Death had been listening to him? From when!?

"Don't bother. Buying time is useless as the Voidslime Realm Eater will not be here to make things easier for you to escape as it's still munching on its favorite food."

Davis shook his head as he looked into the distance, not bothering to look at Xerax's shameless reactions. He yawned, feeling tired over the fate of this mini realm, which made him turn to look at Xerax and smile with a pitiful gaze.

"Also, that thing is not mine. I was hunting and following it through mini-realms, you know? You and your Cyan Soul Rat Clan were truly unlucky to have this creature find your sealed mini-realm. If it were not for it, you could've perfectly honed your skills and cultivation for a hundred thousand years to plan your return and hunt down my descendants here. Ah- just thinking about it makes you feel exhilarated, no?

"No, no- I…"

Xerax tried to shake his head, but he found out, to his horror, that he was smiling with delight.

Only then did he discover that he was being influenced by a strange energy, causing him to hurriedly lower his head and smash into the ground again.

"No! Divine Emperor of Death! Please spare this traitorous bastard! This is a curse from my bloodline. I can't do anything about it~ I am willing to become your slave, please- just my life! Spare me!"

Xerax cried out as he shed tears on the ground, staining the puddle of blood.

Davis's lips curled as he shot a look of disgust.

Naturally, he had used Enigmatic Heart Intent to force him to reveal his true emotions on his face, but for a king to beg like this for his own life, Davis wanted to do nothing with this miserable, kingly magical beast. Today, he learned even a magical beast can be as shameless and devious as a human.

He had been thinking that emotions were different for magical beasts ever since Void Dust Empress told him, but it didn't seem like it was the case for magical beasts, at the very least. If this bastard could be this devious, then he knew Nadia and Eldia could also know love and feel it.

It made him feel better now that he realized this, causing him to turn to look around, wondering how he should finish this business.

He certainly didn't want to end this rat's life easily. At the same time, he was looking ahead. This kind of cat-and-mouse chase could not cloud his eyes.

Davis turned to look at the spatial vortex, and his eyes lit up with an idea.

He knew how to inscribe some simple runes stemming from the combination of multiple inscriptions. To further his comprehension of Space Laws, he also watched these rats inscribe runes on the spatial formation's core to relieve the pressure from the spatial tunnel so higher entities could pass through.

It was kind of an inverse pressure where it only acted on strong objects or lifeforms so as to keep the spatial tunnel from collapsing from reaching the limit.

Regardless, watching them made him comprehend some profundities and become able to recall the runes they etched onto the formation core.

Leaving Xerax alone, he began to form the formation core that was half-complete by some elders and began to draw on it with his soul force. His fingers danced like a quill, creating multiple inscriptions in mid-air, and with a flick, he compressed it into a rune and etched it onto the formation core.

He repeated this action a hundred times, creating different spatial runes containing endless profundities and etching them on the formation core.

"Success!"

Davis looked excitedly at the spatial formation core he made in an hour. He looked like he had never been so proud of his actions before, causing Xerax's expression to twitch.

He hadn't even moved, knowing that he would be blasted off the face of the earth. In fact, he was waiting to be enslaved as he knew there was no escape.

"Master is extremely talented. It was no wonder a king-slave like me couldn't do anything against you." Xerax lowered his head and praised Davis without appearing to feel any shame whatsoever.

Davis turned to look at him, still smiling.

"Don't feel down. You still have a chance to escape my grasp. Here…"

Davis threw the spatial formation core to the ground. It rolled off towards Xerax, causing him to blink and look dumbfounded.

A trap… was the first thing that came to his mind. He also felt it could be a test to see if he could cross the spatial tunnel safely, which meant that he was a sacrificial lamb for the Divine Emperor of Death to get out.

Xerax didn't dare take it, and seeing the Emperor of Death walk towards him, he hurriedly tried to kowtow, but the other party's soul force, which was like a mountain against his own, made him forcefully sit up.

Davis squatted down and gestured with his face at the spatial vortex.

"You see that? You can use this to make your escape. Don't be so suspicious. Do I look like someone who's going to leave you alive? No, I would do everything within my power to kill you, but you see, you're nothing but a stepping stone for me. I can't get mad at every single one of you, so what I should confirm is the suspicions I have towards heaven and earth."

"…"

Xerax blinked, not knowing where this was going, but the Divine Emperor of Death even put his arm around him like he was a friend.

Davis still gazed at the spatial vortex, his expression solemn, "Fate is a mysterious thing. Since the heavens hate me to death, I have this blaring suspicion that it could turn the workings of fate against me like- letting you escape from this near-death situation."

He turned to look at Xerax, causing the other party's heart to pound.

Xerax turned to look at the spatial vortex, his heart filled with hope. However, he hurriedly reeled himself, shaking his head.

"How can it be? The heavens are fair. They won't allow me to escape because I have manipulated so many."

"Alright, that's enough."

Davis lost his patience and stood up, carrying Xerax by the hair as he dragged him.

"Wait- wait! Fine! I will go by myself!"

"Very good."

Davis smiled, but his smile was one of extreme apathy.